Carlos Sainz needs to learn how to drive, pronto

Formula One Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz has demonstrated a clear need that he needs to revisit the principal of overtaking in Formula One, but will he?

Aggressive driving in Formula One goes hand in hand. It would be ludicrous to assume that the premier class of open-wheel racing would have anything but. And yet, there is such a precedent for driving too aggressively – Red Bull Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz is a walking example of that.

If there is a place to do a proper lap in the limit without mistakes that is Monaco, and today, it happened! So happy with that P6! pic.twitter.com/nWxraIjnyI

The young Spaniard seems committed to prove that he’s the wiliest driver out on the grid, but his behavior may have severe consequences on his career. One could almost pardon Sainz due to the increased sense of loss of the back that the drivers have suffered during the 2017 regulation change, but there seems to be something going on that’s not just increased width and power of the cars – or the rear-view mirrors, as Sainz would attest.

For Carlos Sainz to hit Romain Grosjean on the straight during the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix is the equivalent for a cry for help from the driver given just how many times he’s managed to knock someone out about the track. While his issue has only just put him front and center in the world of Formula One, the young Spaniard has been at it for quite some time. During his stint in GP3, he managed to take out Lewis Hamilton on the back straight at Silverstone. Suffice it to say that Hamilton was not happy about his style of driving.

And it really does beg the question: just what kind of driver is Sainz? Vettel and Verstappen are two of the most aggressive drivers out on the grid, yet they (almost) always manage to calculate their risk shots perfectly and claim a position at the end of their attack. With Sainz it’s different. His bold, rash, and quite often tactless manoeuvres have always managed to take rival drivers out of the race, and are quickly becoming an associating factor with the young driver.

Probably todays result doesnt reflect the good qualy and weekend we had up until now. Tomorrow we will try and recover a bit! pic.twitter.com/IbdszarmZb

The problem would seemingly go away if Sainz would simply admit that he has an issue that needs addressing, but thus far we’ve yet to see any form of admission regarding the nature of his choices. Even after he was handed a grid-place penalty following his performance in Canada, Sainz managed to talk more about the state of the rear-view mirrors he blamed his performance on rather than of the issue.

Although Carlos can maintain that he was at no fault until the end of his days, his employers are less than likely to have such acceptance. Should he fail to shape up, Toro Rosso and the other drivers in the paddock will do it for him.

Nikola is a carbon-based life-form residing on Earth dimension C-137. Lover of all things fast and furious. When he's not tapping away at a keyboard, he can be found aimlessly drifting in cyberspace, looking for signs of intelligent life.